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<h2 id="org4858f1b">Why Modern Dumb Phones are Dumb</h2>
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<p>
As yes, the modern dumb phone. When you see someone flip one of these bad boys
out in public, you just have to look! The memories of typing with that classic
T9 word. Flipping (or sliding) open the phone to answer a phone call. So epic,
so classic, and now with 4G!? As much as they will take you back to the good old
days of 2005, the current state dumb phones are in is an absolute disaster. This
is what I've learned after 2 years in the dumb phone world.
</p>

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<p>
As mentioned in my article on <a href="back-to-webos.html">going back to webOS</a>, my iPhone was having issues
and I didn't feel like buying a new one. This gave me the opportunity to use an
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Pre_3">HP Pre 3</a> that I had purchased way back in 2013. I used that device for about a
year and was beginning to have some issues with the cell connection. So I
decided to it to rest and try something else. I switched to a garbage Android
device for a while but the screen was so bad that I couldn't even really use
it. Not to mention it had major connection issues when I switched to
T-Mobile. I then go my first "dumb" phone since 2009: the <a href="https://us.alcatelmobile.com/alcatel-go-flip-3/">Alcatel Go Flip
3</a>. Thinking that it was just a dumb phone with a few extras I had no idea what I
was getting myself into&#x2026;
</p>


<p>
The device runs <a href="https://www.kaiostech.com/">KaiOS</a> - which is basically the reincarnate of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS">FireFoxOS</a>. I
thought that was pretty cool! A nice free software project and it's doing crazy
well in India! It's got some apps too which is handy. Then I found something
out&#x2026; Something terrible&#x2026; <a href="https://androidcommunity.com/google-buys-kaios-to-put-assistant-apps-in-feature-phones-20180628/">KaiOS was purchased by Google</a>&#x2026; NOOOOOO!!!!! Yeah,
that explains why there is Google Assistant on the Go Flip! I just thought KaiOS
was hip or something! Well, as sad as that made me, I assumed the best and
continued to use the device for a few months.
</p>


<p>
I started to look for a new device because the Go Flip was so slow that typing
was difficult. It couldn't keep up with even the slowest of typing! While
looking for an alternative dumb phone, I began to notice something: <i>they all</i>
<i>run android</i>! Serious! <a href="https://www.thelightphone.com/">Light Phone</a>, <a href="https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/">Punkt Mp02</a>, <a href="https://www.schokgear.com/">Schok Classic</a>, <a href="https://www.sonimtech.com/products/devices/xp3/">SONIM XP3/XP5</a>,
<a href="https://kyoceramobile.com/duraxv-extreme/">Kyocera DuraXV Extreme</a> - the list goes on and on! Plain android isn't
necessarily a bad thing but what <i>is</i> bad is if they didn't de-Google it. As far
as I know, Schok and SONIM both don't de-Google. I know this because I have used
both of their devices and they have running Google services. I am unsure about
the others. I do know that Kyocera has potential for stealing user data and
giving it to Verizon based on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdutVLGBLqY">this</a> video. The man in the video really doesn't
know much about the topic but the fact that those items are in there is a
concern. I don't know much about the Light Phone and Punkt but they're very
expensive and I don't care for that automatically. What has the dumb phone world
come to!?
</p>


<p>
What does this all mean? Well, if KaiOS is Google owned and most dumb phones run
Android (assuming there is some hidden services for either Google or another
entity) we can assume that they all have some sort of spyware running. Not to
mention they're all proprietary so we already don't know what's going on in
there. <b>In turn, this means that dumb phones suffer from the same plague as</b>
<b>smartphones when it comes to privacy!</b> Not to mention some of them are really
expensive too. This leaves dumb phones with one benefit: no social media. OH
WAIT, KaiOS has a Facebook app! Nice. Real nice.
</p>


<p>
As far as I can tell, there are really only 3 options for folks wanting a safe
dumb phone: <a href="https://mudita.com/products/pure/">Mudita Pure</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/jxh66t/thoughts_on_dumbphone_software/">this guy</a>, and <a href="https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/">PinePhone</a>/<a href="https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/">Librem 5</a>. <b>Pure</b>: I see
potential. The OS will be released under the <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html">GNU GPLv3</a> supposedly. There are 3
big issues that I see with this device: e-ink, cost, and no group texting. The
e-ink display means you can't view images most likely. Maybe they'll do a thing
with black and white ones? No idea but could be a major concern for some
people. It's like $370 retail price which is very expensive. Hopefully the
device turns out to be worth that price! I find it silly to not include this in
the initial release. I personally find group texting very useful and would love
to see it. <b>This guy</b>: I don't really see this project going anywhere. It's
possible, however. <b>PinePhone/Librem 5</b>: These are technically smartphones <i>but</i>
since they don't have all the apps of iOS and Android and are pretty safe, they
are probably the best option currently. The biggest issue I see with these are
that that you can still spend all day scrolling on them and there aren't any
stable operating systems as of 2020-12-02.
</p>


<p>
In conclusion, dumb phones are just as bad as smartphones when it comes to
privacy. I cannot seriously recommend <i>any</i> on the market as of 2020-12-02. I
believe that the safest option currently would be the Punkt but I'm not 100%
sure as I don't want to spend the money to see. Keep in mind the Punkt is <span class="underline">very</span>
dumb and cannot group texting nor view images. I am very hopeful that the Mudita
Pure turns out to be something great - only time will tell! If anyone knows of
any possible solutions here, let me know!
</p>
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<p class="author">Author: Kevin "The Nuclear" Bloom</p>
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